The sixth annual Nantucket Book Festival has arrived and there are almost too many great readings and signings to keep up with. And while we at N Magazine are excited for the entire schedule of events, we thought we’d take a stab at narrowing down a few highlights for those of you who just can’t decide where to start.
Opening Night Celebration
Friday, June 16 | 7 P.M. | Unitarian Meeting House Sanctuary
Open Books, Open Minds: Writing to Cross Borders
Featuring Marie Arana, Will Schwalbe, and Keving Young
The Nantucket Book Festival welcomes one and all to the Sanctuary of the Unitarian Meeting House for their Opening Celebration, celebrating the bonds of literature and community to which the Festival is dedicated. Tonight, as throughout the Festival, we look to these talented authors for roadmaps in troubled times as interpreters, clarifiers, and decoders. We ask them for passion and perspective, whether personal, political or global, to help us interpret our challenges and find meaning and resolution amidst conflict and division. This kick-off event will recognize the island’s youth who show promise as writers, and highlight the Young Writer Award, a perennial cornerstone of the Festival.
Nantucket Book Festival Author Dinner
Friday, June 16 | 8 P.M. | Brant Point Grill, White Elephant
Note: this is a ticketed event
Imagine enjoying a sumptuous buffet dinner overlooking the harbor while rubbing elbows with almost 40 of your favorite authors. The NBF Author Dinner, presented by Nantucket Island Resorts, is the perfect ending to a day filled with inspiring author conversations. As the only event designed to fundraise for the Book Festival, your ticket helps keep over 75% of the Festival events free and open to everyone. Tickets are $425, or $500 for the Bookends Package (Author Dinner + Sunday Breakfast).
Local Authors Tent
Saturday, June 17 | 9 A.M. – 1 P.M. | Atheneum Garden
Over 30 authors from Nantucket and New England gather under the garden tent to talk with readers and sell their books. Every genre from children’s to adult fiction and nonfiction will be represented. Discover the talents of our resident authors and take home a new title to enjoy. ACK-FM will be broadcasting live from 10 A.M. – 1 P.M., and the Typewriter Rodeo will be on hand to write poems on demand.
Memoir and Memory with Ruth Reichl
Sunday, June 18 | 9 A.M. | Brant Point Grill, White Elephant
Note: this is a ticketed event
When a book goes out into the world, it takes on a life of its own. It can often take years for an author to understand what she was really writing about. Share Sunday breakfast with Ruth Reichl at the beautiful Brant Point Grill, and hear more about Ruth’s personal journey. Tickets are $125, or purchase a Bookends Package for Friday night’s Author Dinner + Sunday breakfast for $500 – a $50 savings.
Closing Celebration
Sunday, June 18 | 6 P.M. | NHA Whaling Museum
Wild Places and Human Dignity
Note: this is a ticketed event
Carl Safina, ecologist, holder of endowed chair for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University, and host of PBS Series Saving the Ocean with Carol Safina, will discuss environmental life on our island and our planet. Carl will be interviewed by Dr. Sarah Bois, Linda Loring Nature Foundation Director of Research and Education. Following the presentation, watch the sun set on the 2017 Nantucket Book Festival from the Observation Deck of the Museum while toasting the moment with champagne and hors d’oeuvres.